Archaeologist to discuss excavation results

Published
12:52 pm CST, Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Hear the latest discoveries about a huge Native American settlement excavated in what is now East St. Louis when archaeologist Tamira K. Brennan delivers a free presentation Feb. 26 at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.

Dr. Brennan, coordinator of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey’s American Bottom Field Station, will speak at 2 p.m. The event takes place at the site’s Interpretive Center.

The survey conducted excavations in East St. Louis for the relocation of Interstate 70 approaching the new Stan Musial Bridge. They found a massive settlement associated with a huge mound center, second only to Cahokia Mounds.

The project uncovered more than 6,000 pits, structures, monumental posts and other features dating from about AD 900 to 1250.

Artifacts from the East St. Louis excavation, from ancient to modern

In her presentation, entitled “Insights and Updates on Greater Cahokia from Excavations at the East St. Louis Precinct,” Brennan will explain what the discoveries reveal about daily life, social and political structures and how East St. Louis, Cahokia and other villages together formed one of North America’s first and largest pre-Columbian cities.

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is just eight miles from downtown St. Louis, in Collinsville, Illinois, off Interstates 55/70 (Exit 6) and Interstate 255 (Exit 24), on Collinsville Road. The Interpretive Center is open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. There is no admission fee but we do suggest donations of $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, $2 for students and $15 for families.